Blackmail
by theannonymus
Summary: Veronica Vileroy thinks she lives an ordinary life, as every typical teenage character does, when she receives an interesting note from an anonymous source that makes absolutely no sense. This may seem like an ordinary teen-angst story to you, but trust me. It is so much more than that.
1. Chapter 1

**Blackmail**

Chapter 1

"Hey, Veronica!"

I turned in my seat to see Paulo weaving clumsily through desks, waving a small black piece of paper in his hand. When he reached the row behind me, he tripped on the leg of Claudia's desk and fell flat on his face in the center of the small aisle. The few students in the room burst into loud howls and applause.

"Nice going, klutz." I said, giggling at his failure.

"Shut up." Paulo replied, frowning as he got to his feet. "I rush over here to bear you gifts, and this is how you treat your delivery boy? Remind me of that next time you want something."

I laughed. "Like you could find an actual excuse to restrain yourself from doing what I want. Keep trying, though. It's hilarious."

Paulo blushed. "Again, shut up! Stop using your female powers of manipulation on me! I thought you only did that to jerks." He pouted. I opened my mouth for a witty comeback, but he stopped me with a simple 'talk to the hand' gesture. "Don't bother saying what I know you're going to say. It's insulting. Anyway, some guy in the other class gave this to me and told me to give it to you" Paulo explained as he handed me the black paper. "I have no idea what it is or what it's for, so don't ask."

The paper felt thicker than I originally thought it was going to be. I turned it over and discovered it wasn't simply a flat piece of paper, but a black envelope. It had no writing on it, or so I could see. It was sealed shut in a perfect, clear cut line. There were no wrinkles or folds on the envelope. I was shocked at how well kempt this little message was.

"I can see you're more interested in this unopened envelope than my presence, so I'm just going to go flirt with some dumb chick. Preferably one that isn't in our class and can't glare at me constantly. Trust me, that sucks. See ya." Paulo said, cutting me from my trance. He walked away, hands in his pockets, this time being more careful weaving through the maze of desks.

"I doubt some dumb chick is more fun flirting with than me!" I yelled over to Paulo, smiling.

"At least she'll know how to flirt back!" He yelled back, waving the back of his hand to me without turning.

I turned back to my desk to the odd envelope. I felt bad opening it because it would tear and ruin the utter perfection of the envelope, but it had to be done. I tore through the top and took out a smaller black sheet of paper that fit perfectly in the envelope. I searched the sheet, but there was nothing written on it. I turned the paper, and the back gave me the same result. I flipped the paper again and again, but I could see nothing on this black paper. It was a pointless message!

I threw the paper on my desk, falling back into my chair. You would think something so trivial wouldn't bother me, but even though it looked like an empty message, there had to be something. Something to give it meaning. It bothered me because for the life of me, I could not figure out the puzzle behind this stupid 'gift'.

_**2 Days Later**_

No clues. No new message. No help from Paulo. Nothing. This envelope gave me some sort of message, but I had nothing to help me figure out what that message could possibly be. What was the point in going through the trouble of sending someone something in such perfect condition that had no purpose?

I sat with my back against the school wall in the shade, away from the roaring crowds of teenagers going home. God, they could be so loud. How was a person supposed to think? I pulled up my knees to my chest, hugging them tightly, and let my head fall on my arms. I stayed that way for the few moments I had undisturbed.

"Hey." A voice said. I looked up, but all I could see was a silhouette in the dark shade. "It's me. Paulo." He said in a rushed voice. Must've realized I couldn't identify him. Smart boy.

"Hi. Look, I really don't want to be mean, but I really don't want to talk to anyone right now." I replied, resting my head on my arms again.

Paulo sighed. "Ever since I gave you that stupid envelope, you've been acting strange. I'm worried. I don't think you should be shutting yourself out like this. I…I miss talking to you. Please. Talk to me, Veronica." He really did sound sad. Why couldn't he just leave me alone? I ignored him, not moving from my position for about a minute. I heard him sigh again and walk away from me. Good riddance.

About 5 minutes later, I heard footsteps approach me again and stop by my side. "God, Paulo. Didn't you get the message the first time?" I said without looking up.

I heard a high pitched laugh from the figure beside me. That was definitely a girl. Definitely not Paulo. "Well, there are messages involved in this conversation, but not the one you're referring to. I actually don't know what you're referring to, not that it matters."

I looked up quickly, but again, all I could see was a silhouette, this time of a girl with one hand on her hip. I could see the whites of her teeth as she smiled menacingly at me. "Who are you?" I asked the girl. Her expression, or what I could see of it, gave me the chills.

"I'm sure you'll figure that one out soon enough. But again, irrelevant at this moment in time. I'm here to check if you got my message and if you understood it. Because if you did, I will gladly applaud you." Her smile got wider, creepier, as she said this.

I thought for a minute. "Do you mean the black envelope and paper was…your message? There was nothing written on it. And Paulo said he got it from some guy."

"Ah, yes, Derek. He was of good use to me, did his job quite well. And yes, the black message was mine directly to you. Have you any guesses to what the message was? Because you don't seem to have figured it out yet."

"Well of course I have no idea what it means! There's nothing on the envelope or the paper inside it. I know. I've checked time and time again. What does it mean?"

The girl laughed again. "Why, it's me blackmailing you, silly. Don't you love my play on words? And for your information, there is writing on it, if you have the brains to decode it." She said in a very cute tone of voice. I knew that voice. But who's was it…

This time I laughed. "How could you have anything to blackmail me with? If I can't even recognize your voice, how could you possibly know that much about me?"

"You may not know me, but I know you better than you would ever wish me to. In fact, you can't even remember you telling me everything you would never want anyone to know. Well, except me. If you're wondering what exactly I'm blackmailing you with, you're going to have to figure that out yourself because I really don't feel like spoon-feeding you everything." The girl yawned, almost sounding like out of boredom. "Oh, and if you're wondering what I want, we'll have that talk when you figure out what I'm blackmailing you with. It will make a hell of lot more sense then. Anyway, I have places to be, lives to ruin. See you around." The girl turned on her heel and walked away. When she left the shadows, I saw her black ponytail swish back and forth as she walked through the yard.

Surprisingly, I actually felt somewhat relieved that she had told me what the message was. The mystery that boggled my mind had gotten more complex, yes, but the original puzzle was solved. I couldn't help it, but it put my mind slightly at ease. Now the problem was who was that girl? What did she mean I couldn't remember? Did I have holes in my memory? I thought back, searching for holes in my memory. How far back should I go? I decided the last 2 years, since this girl couldn't have known me before high school so…

I turned back to look at the girl, only this time, she was turned toward me, smiling menacingly once more, evil written all over her face, fire deep in her eyes. Claudia. She smirked and raised an eyebrow. A challenge? I was about to yell out to her when all of a sudden, a raging headache hit me with a terrible force. I gripped my temples fiercely, gritting my teeth. I had never felt a pain so horrible in my life. It was worse than a migraine. I looked up for Claudia, but she had disappeared. Gone in an instant.

The headache raged on. I grunted in pain, dug the heels of my hands into my head, but nothing helped. I tried to figure out what could be causing me all this pain, and as I delved into my head, I realized I could feel the holes in my memory. Large craters of black nothing corrupted my memory. How had I never noticed these gaps before! The headache amplified its power as I had this revelation. I screamed out at the top of my lungs, and just when I thought I was going to die of the pain, I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I woke up, I had no idea how much time had passed. My mind felt groggy and jumbled. I looked around at my surroundings and discovered I was in my room, lying in bed. I looked over at my clock and realized my alarm was going off. I turned it off the alarm and sat up, but the room spun. As I waited for the dizziness to clear, I tried to remember what happened between me being in school to ending up in my bed. The last thing I could remember was my history teacher blathering on about the Ides of March and what it meant. I also remembered almost falling asleep in that lecture. Other than that, nothing. My mind was blank. There was nothing there to fill the missing time.

I got to school, still trying to figure out what I did yesterday, but when I entered my class, time seemed to freeze. Literally, everything just stopped moving. The few groups of people stood frozen in place. I turned to the clock, but none of the hands were moving. I walked over to the window and saw a soccer player frozen with his foot in the air, preparing to kick the ball. Everyone and everything was frozen…except me. Or so I thought.

I turned back to the classroom and my eyes scanned the room for any sight of movement. This couldn't be real. I was probably just losing it or something…right? I walked up to my classmate, Brian, and his small group of friends and raised my hand to tap him on the shoulder when I saw fast movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned swiftly to see Claudia standing in the direct center of the room, arms crossed, a sly grin on her face.

"Well, looks like someone got her power out of sleep mode. God, am I glad I knocked some sense into you yesterday. You used to be so much better than this." She sighed. "I've been so lonely without you, Vero. No one amuses me the way you used to." Her face turned sad, almost remorseful as she said this, but the sly amusement remained in her eyes.

"What are you talking about? And my name isn't Vero, its Veronica. We aren't close enough for nicknames, Claudia. I've only talked to you once or twice, for crying out loud." I had no idea what she was talking about, but for some reason, something tugged on my brain, begging me to remember something. Did she have something to do with my missing time? I had this strong feeling that she did.

She sighed again. "Look, Vero, we've had part one of this conversation already, and I really don't feel like repeating the whole experience again. How much of yesterday do you remember?"

So she was involved with my missing time. "Why does that matter to you?"

She shrugged. "Just curious. Maybe I can help you remember what you're missing. Doesn't that big crater of lost time bother you? I know it does, so don't bother answering that. Haven't you been wondering why the mystery of the black note no longer interests you? You've already figured out the puzzle. Now you just need to remember how you did that."

Black note? The blank envelope I received a few days ago? It had been on my mind night and day for the past few days, but she had a point. I hadn't thought about it at all since waking up. Did I really figure it out? I looked over to the back of the classroom and saw Paulo, standing alone, staring at the floor, arms crossed. He looked upset about something. If time wasn't frozen, I would go comfort him but…

And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning striking my skull. The impact made me stagger back a step, but I remembered everything about yesterday. Talking to Paulo, talking to Claudia, the blackmail, the evil expression, the searing pain, and then nothing. I had blacked out, and somehow ended up back home for this morning.

I looked up at Claudia, who was once again smiling threateningly. Her expression made my skin crawl. "Looks like someone remembers now. I'm so proud of you. And you didn't even need the clue I gave you! All you had to do was look at that poor sucker over there." She said, pointing back at Paulo.

"Okay, I need to know. What is going on here? Why did time stop? And what could I have possibly done to you for you to target me like this? I haven't even talked to you that much in all the time I've known you!"

Her smile faded and hatred burned in her eyes. "I already told you, you're going to have to figure that out yourself. This conversation is pointless until you figure it out." Her dark expression lightened into one of cruel enjoyment once more. "Time stopped because you made it stop. I had nothing to do with it…this time. Personally, I think you stopped time because you subconsciously really wanted to talk to me. Although, we could talk with time unfrozen, you know. However, I know you've always been one for theatrics, so I'll humor you for a little longer. But I'll tell you this, no matter how much your subconscious wants to know all the answers, no amount of theatrics will make me tell you anything. I'm totally not into spoon-feeding you. You're smarter than you think, Vero. Use that beautifully twisted brain of yours."

I tried to process what she was saying for a minute, but to no avail. She made no sense. "First of all, stop calling me Vero. It's not my name, not even my nickname. Second of all, I can't stop time. It's impossible. Even if it was possible, I would be the last person capable of the supernatural. Thirdly, if you don't tell me what you have against me, how the hell am I going to figure it out on my own?"

"Tsk, tsk, Vero. We can sit here in this pocket of time for as long as you want, but as much as we don't advance on a clock, your brain isn't advancing at all by asking me questions you know you're not getting the answer for. Anyway, I'm figuring you don't know how to resume time, since that takes way more focus than stopping it, so I'm going to help you this one time and do it for you." Her expression turned dark again. "Don't expect it in the future, Vero." She walked toward the door, and I was too stunned to chase after her. As soon as she walked out the doorway, time resumed. The clock ticked, the mindless babble of my classmates resumed, and I heard roars coming from outside, telling me that boy in mid-kick must have gotten a goal. And Claudia was nowhere in sight.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I stood, frozen in the middle of the desks, trying to process everything Claudia told me. How could I have the power to stop time? I didn't, couldn't. She was just crazy. But…what if I did stop time? What were the holes in my memory? Were they all of her? If that was the case, I had talked to her…a lot. But how could I have talked to her so much in high school, and yet I could recall so much of my high school life even with the missing pieces? There wasn't enough time in the world for both the gaps and the memories. What did it all mean?

"—onica. Veronica? Hello?" Paulo stood in front of me, clearing me of my thoughts.

"Oh, Paulo. Hi. Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday. The black note thing was driving me crazy, and I took it out on you. I'm so, so sorry."

Paulo smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's ok, Vee. Don't worry about it, I'm fine. I understand, you _had_ to figure it out. I respect that. Did you end up figuring out what it meant, by the way?"

He looked so sad. I wanted to tell him all about the note, about Claudia, even about the frozen time, but how could I? Would he even believe me? I put on a fake smile, sad that I couldn't tell him everything. "No, but I've given up. It's not worth all the stress it gave me. It was probably just a prank or something."

Paulo opened his mouth to respond, but the bell rang before he could get a word out. He smiled sadly again, nodded, and walked to the back of the class to where his desk was. I watched as he sat down without greeting anyone and laid his head on his desk, looking defeated. I knew I had to make amends with him, but I had too much on my mind to worry about it too much. Like what was I going to do in class with Claudia sitting directly behind me?

I could feel her eyes burning holes in the back of my head. I couldn't tell if she was glaring or not, but the unpleasant feeling I had told me she was simply watching me like a lab rat, waiting for me to give her the wanted results. I hated the fact that she kept staring at me. I turned around in my chair to glare at her for making me feel so unpleasant, but when she saw my expression, I could see she was holding back laughter. A small chuckle escaped her lips right when my teacher, Mrs. Marvulli, had stopped speaking.

"Miss Vileroy, would you care to explain to me why you are making Miss Mephistopheles giggle like a school girl?" Mrs. Marvulli said in an annoyed tone that told me I was never going to get on her good side.

I turned toward her slowly in my seat, an embarrassed smile on my face. "I was simply telling Claudia to stop eyeing the back of my head like a hawk and pay attention to your wonderful lesson on evolutionary theories."

"I was never talking about evolutionary theories, Miss Vileroy."

"Oh. Well, maybe you should. It's a fascinating subject, as long as you don't start off talking about Darwin. Then the topic gets very biased very fast."

"I'm only going to say this once. Pay attention, Miss Vileroy."

"Will do, Madame." This earned a few giggles from my classmates. Mrs. Marvulli glared at them, but turned back to the board to continue her notes.

"Nice going, klutz." Claudia whispered to me.

I started questioning my entire existence over the next few days. I didn't bother making up with Paulo, I zoned out constantly in class, and I felt Claudia's watchful eye on me almost everywhere I went. Unanswered questions buzzed around my head like a horde of angry wasps, stinging at all the gaps in my knowledge. _How do I know Claudia, yet I can't remember anything important about her? How am I supposed to get my memories back? What if I actually can stop time? If so, do I have other freaky abilities? _I needed to talk to Claudia again. Alone. It was time to see if I could really stop time, as impossible as it seemed.

I walked out to the backyard of my school. It wasn't large, mostly paved, and the grass was too far out to be of any consequence. I stood in the middle of the square pavement and waited. I had no idea what to concentrate on so I tried solid objects. Ice, rocks, steel, wood….I felt like a fool, to say the least.

"The trick is to just tell time to stop. It's really simple, like telling a dog to sit." Claudia said from behind me.

"I thought you weren't going to help me anymore." I replied without turning. But I did take her advice. I imagined time as a dog, trotting along a straight path, going nowhere. The dog turned to me, expecting something, then continued on its merry way. _Stop_, I told the dog. He hesitated on his next step but kept walking as if I said nothing.

"Be more firm. Oh, and I love the fact that you used my example in your imagination. Really, I'm flattered, Vero."

I watched the dog stroll along, and I felt angry at its stupid wagging tail. It was like it was trying to defy me. _STOP!_ I yelled mentally at the dog. The dog froze in its place, its front right leg stuck in the air. I looked around me and noticed all the kids going home for the day had also frozen in place. Many of them had their mouths open. It really was a funny sight to see. I smiled at my small victory. I could stop time! How many uses could I find for that power? The possibilities were endless!

From behind me, I heard Claudia applaud me. I turned around and saw her smiling. The smile actually looked genuinely happy for me, but her eyes showed malice. "Well, I have to say I didn't expect you to jump on board the idea as quickly as you did but I am oh, so proud that you did. I thought you'd remain in a denial phase for a while. That would've been _exhausting._ You've earned yourself one answer to one of your many questions"

"Again, I thought you weren't helping me anymore. Thought you wanted me to figure it all out myself."

"Yeah, I did say that. But then I realized how utterly boring and long that approach would be. I've decided to help you in small increments, as long as that doesn't involve giving everything away. And by that I mean I'm not telling you who you are, how we know each other, why you've forgotten all about me, what I'm blackmailing you with, what I'm blackmailing you _for_…and I think that's about it for restricted questions. If you ask me one that's restricted, I won't answer, but I think you get the jest. So what question do you have for me?"

I thought about it. I already knew I could stop time, she wasn't going to answer my questions about her or the events surrounding her so…what did that leave for me to ask? "Do…Do I have any other…powers?"

Claudia looked at me curiously, like an alien had given her a typical human response. "Hmm. I'm interested in the fact that you chose that question, but I suppose it's a good start. Channel your abilities to help you solve the puzzle…clever, Vero. Very clever. But yes, you do have other 'powers'. Such a human word with their human categories. They make everything so complicated. You have telekinesis, age shifting, teleportation, chronokinesis, cursing, empathy, hypnosis, immunity, omnilingualism, and soul absorption."

I was stunned. I didn't even know what half of those meant, but that was a long list. A list of abilities I would have to somehow figure out if I was ever going to get anywhere with this mystery. As I stood there dumbfounded, Claudia yawned and checked her watch. "Anyway, I should be going. People to see, lives to ruin, you know. Typical routine stuff. If you ever need to talk to me, stop time again and I'll find you." Claudia turned to walk away, but she turned back swiftly with an expression filled with pure venom. "And do _not _summon me to ask stupid questions you know I won't answer. You really don't want to angry me, Vero. You've been warned." She turned away from me and disappeared into thin air. Gone before I could say a word. How typical.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When I got home, I decided it was going to be one of the rare days I take a nap because I really had had enough with the day already. I fell into a deep sleep and started dreaming, but this dream felt so…familiar. So real, even though I was positive I have never been there before. I stood barefoot and alone in a field of dandelions. I looked down at the plain white sundress I was wearing as I felt the slight breeze blow the fabric away from my legs. The bright yellow was so vibrant in the sunlight and stretched on for what looked like miles, then suddenly stopped and I could see vivid blue sky beyond it. Probably a cliff or something.

"Hey Vero! Wake up, sister. We have some major work to do, and you're looking off into space. If you don't get your act together before Nikos gets here, I swear to Satan, I will hurt you."

I turned swiftly and saw Claudia standing behind me, a field of dandelions stretching out behind her as well in a dress identical to mine. Unlike in all our real-life encounters, she had a warm smile on her face and a genuinely happy look in her eyes. She actually looked _happy_ to see me. And for some reason, I was happy to see her too. I felt a large smile form on my face. I had no control over this dream-body of mine. I felt like a prisoner in my own mind, chained to watch and feel what my dream-self did with no input whatsoever.

"Whatever, Callie. Just because it means the world to you to impress Nikos doesn't mean I have anything to do with it. Don't you feel any shame? You scared off our last mentor like this too." My dream-self tsked, but remained smiling at Claudia. Callie? What was I _doing?_ For some reason, I felt like Claudia was my_ friend_ in this dream and yet I couldn't think of anyone I hated more than her right now. _What is going on in this dream!_

Claudia laughed. "Well, whatever. You know me. Anyway, do you have any idea why they put us in these horrid dresses? I can almost feel my skin burning, it's so bad. And even worse, why would they bring us to such a bright setting? It's giving me a headache. All these bright colors remind me of everything I hate about this stupid world." Claudia had an expression of pure disgust as she looked around at the field. "I feel for vampires so much right now. I would actually take it as a blessing if this sunlight would burn me up into dust right now."

My dream-self laughed at that, but it wasn't my laugh. It dripped with venom and malice. I would've shuddered if I had a body at the moment. It sounded so…maleficent. "I know what you mean. Nikos clearly wants to make us suffer before he gives us our objective today. Maybe it's a teaching technique?" Claudia shrugged. "Ugh, can he just let us get out of these stupid dresses? We aren't angels, and they would probably kick our butts for even remotely looking like them, minus the fluffy wings and halos." I liked that dress! It was like this dream-self was a completely different person but I knew it wasn't. I knew it was supposed to be me, only it wasn't really me. My brain hurt from all the confusion.

"Unfortunately for you two, you won't be getting out of anything." I turned to my right where a young man had suddenly manifested a few meters away in the deserted field. He walked over to me and Claudia, a sly grin on his face, but his expression screamed cruel amusement. He had short, spiky jet black hair and a pale skin tone that made his pink lips stand out as if they were blood red. He was wearing a black leather jacket over a plain dark red shirt and baggy black cargo pants. Needless to say, he stood out like a sore thumb in the bright scenery we were in. As he got closer, I noticed he had a very sharp jawline, which I have to say, made him a little more attractive, but what really interested me was the fact that this guy had blood red irises. From afar, they had looked like a dark brown or something, but seeing they were red…I was suddenly more on edge than I had been before, but I wasn't scared of him. I felt a sense of comfort around him, even though I was pretty sure he could kill me without a thought if he wanted to. My dream-self recognized that this man was Nikos, the 'mentor'.

I woke with a start. "Veronica! Wake up, silly!" My mom yelled from downstairs. "C'mon. Dinner time."

I felt wide awake, cold, and very nervous. The dream had felt so real, yet it wasn't the setting or the people that felt real. It was the entire experience felt so real and familiar…could that have possibly been one of my missing memories? Was that dream-self a past me? The thought made me shiver as I got out of bed and rushed downstairs. I had to stop thinking about it.

Only I couldn't stop. I sat at dinner like a zombie, grunting answers rather than using words. I saw my parents exchange worried glances, but I really didn't care. My mind was preoccupied running in circles around the same questions with no visible connections. Well, except for the fact that Claudia seemed to know me well both in real life and the dream. After dinner, I went straight back to me room and paced. I figured the only one who could give me any answers was Claudia, and she did say I could summon her if I didn't ask questions I knew she wouldn't answer so…

I plopped down on my bed, crossed my legs and focused. I almost pulled up the image of the dog again, but I decided against it. How childish was I that I needed to imagine a dog to use an amazing power? Instead, I stared at the digital clock on my bedside table. _STOP, _I told the clock in my head. Funny enough, the last digit was in the process of changing from a 4 to a 5, but it looked like a faded 8 instead. I giggled to myself until I realized I had no way of actually finding Claudia. Yes, I had all the time I needed technically, but where would I even begin to look?

I started freaking out in my head. _Am I going to have to walk around the whole neighbourhood looking for her? What if she's not in the neighbourhood, or any neighbourhood around here? What if she just keeps moving looking for me? I'll never find her. Why didn't I think this through?!_

"Oh, calm your whiskers already. I told you I would come find you, didn't I? Honestly, do you listen to anything I say?" I turned to my open doorway and saw Claudia leaning on the doorframe with crossed arms, looking bored as ever. Her black hair hung around her face in loose ringlets, a change from her normal straight ponytail. I had never seen her out of uniform before, but she dressed like someone who was about to paint a house. Her ratty t-shirt had small holes in it and was clearly 2 sizes too big for her small frame. She wore old skinny jeans that looked too big for her legs, which defeated the purpose entirely. Even her shoes looked like they should've been thrown out years ago because they were in such bad shape. She raised an eyebrow and looked amused. "Like what you see?"

"Not exactly. Do you always dress like this when you leave school?" I replied.

Her expression darkened. "At least I change out of my uniform, unlike Miss Preppy over here." I looked down and realized I hadn't changed before my nap. I blushed lightly and Claudia smiled. "That's what I thought. So what do you want this time? I hope you know stopping time twice in one day is going to make normal people feel like their day has gone on forever. Not that you should care about them, I'm just pointing that out."

"I…I have a question."

"And have you done anything to earn it between now and your last question? Because if not, you are wasting my time." Her smile fell again. "And I do not like people wasting my time."

"I think I remembered something important."

"You think? How do you not know?"

"Because it was a dream."

She pondered that for a moment. "What makes you think it was a memory?"

"Because even though I'd never been there or experienced it or even met one of the people there, everything felt familiar to me, yet I wasn't in control of myself. It's hard to explain."

Claudia straightened up and paced slowly through my room, noticing my things in the process. She stopped pacing after a few minutes, her back to me. "Alright, it probably was a memory. What was it?"

"I'm not telling you that. You keep your many secrets; I get to keep some of mine."

She turned her head slowly and I could only see half her face, but what I saw was an expression of pure evil. It even seemed like her eyes had gotten darker. I backed up a little on my bed and tensed my muscles in case I had to run. Fast. "Do not mess with me, Vero. I am not in the mood."

"I only wanted to ask you a question so I can see if it is a memory or really just a dream."

Her expression lightened slightly and she turned her body towards me. I relaxed my muscles, the flight instinct subsiding. "Fine. I'll allow it, but the next time you want something, you better not defy me like this." Her eyes darkened again. "You'll regret it."

"Alright, I get it. Did we ever…have a mentor together?"

Claudia's face turned white as a sheet and all the darkness seeped out of her face. She looked…scared. "I-I-I…" Her hand shook as she tried to speak. She didn't say anything for a minute, but colour slowly came back into her face. She cleared her throat once her face had half its original colour, but the dark emotion crawled back into her eyes. "I'm not answering that. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do in real time. Good day." She turned her back to me and vanished. I sat there, speechless, but when I looked over at my clock, the last digit had turned to 5.

How dare she just…disappear on me? It hadn't been one of her restricted questions, it had nothing to do with the general picture, and it was a very harmless question. Yet she freaked out and teleported away from me. What was up with that?

She _teleported_ away from me. Teleportation. How had I suddenly become at ease with the supernatural? I had never been a believer in powers or anything out of the ordinary, and yet, in less than a week, I was totally cool with the fact that I could stop time and who knows what else. I wasn't freaking out over the fact that Claudia could probably read my mind, stop time, and teleport. No, I was freaking out over the fact that she couldn't answer a simple question. Forget what was wrong with her. What was wrong with _me_?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When I walked into school the next day, I saw the back of Paulo's head, dragging his feet down the hallway. He looked utterly beat down. "Hey, Paulo!" I called out to him. When he heard his name, he turned slowly, only turning to the side so I could only see half of his face. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks, the bags under his eyes more black than I had ever seen on a person. His eyes looked miserable, like someone had died or his heart had been broken, but his face had a scowl sown into its features. When he realized that it was me who called out to him, he slowly turned away from me again and continued to lumber down the hall. Everyone who was in his way stepped out of his path quickly, looking at him like he had the plague. I didn't understand why he was avoiding me. I hadn't done anything wrong. I ran to catch up with him, matching his pace when I got to him.

"What was that about, hmm?" I said in a light tone, trying to get him to at least look at me. He didn't answer, or even acknowledge I was there. "What, are you ignoring me now?" No reply. "It would be nice if you would at least tell me what was wrong. Did I do something?" His eyes pointed straight ahead, but I saw his lips twitch for a moment. "Ok, I did do something wrong. Mind telling me what that is? I can't exactly fix it if I don't know."

Paulo turned to me quickly, his eyes now more angry than sad. "Gee, I wonder. You've been ignoring me for quite some time now, and now you suddenly feel all better? What am I, a charity case? How does that even work?" I opened my mouth to respond, but he held his hand to my face, shutting me up. His posture straightened as well, and he seemed much taller and more threatening as his expression darkened and shoulders rose. "You know what, I don't need you. I don't need your friendship, as fake as it may be. I don't need you in general. Just leave me alone, ok Vero?" He stormed off as I stood in there, dumbfounded. He had called me Vero. The only one that ever did that was…

"Did I make it just a little too obvious?" I heard Claudia's soft voice whisper in my ear. I turned quickly, but she was nowhere near me. I looked around, trying to find her face in the barely occupied hall, but all I saw were the usual early people, gossiping as usual, paying no attention to me.

I needed to talk to her about this, but I was sick of constantly stopping time to do it. Plus, she could just start it again whenever she pleased. I tried instead to whisper back to her. "What the hell are you talking about?" I whispered. No one around me seemed to notice.

Claudia's laugh reached my ears like she was right beside me, but she wasn't actually there. "Oh, I just tempered a little bit with your friend over there. Just a teensy weensy bit. He doesn't seem to notice though. Who would? I'm literally that good."

"Tempered with him? What are you saying?"

"Well, tempered might be the wrong word. Maybe…implanted or…persuaded are better terms. Maybe."

"What did you do to Paulo?" I whispered through clenched teeth. If she were anywhere near me, I would've punched her in the teeth by now.

"Oh, touchy are we? Well, you're going to have to figure that out yourself. My god, how wound up you are getting. It's so exciting to experience you like this. All the fun we're going to have, Vero…I just can't wait."

"Why him? Why now? What game are you playing, Claudia?"

"The best kind. And in case you're wondering…" She paused, but I could hear the menace creeping back into her voice. I could only imagine what her face looked like, and it most definitely did not have a smile on it. "This is a sort of punishment. You piss me off, I get mean. Get the picture?"

"What, are you punishing me for not telling you every little detail in my life? Are you some sort of stalker?" Claudia growled at that. Literally growled, like a lion, only more girly. "What did you do to Paulo?"

Claudia laughed as though she was the evil queen in a Disney movie. "All I did to your precious boy toy was remind him how cruel you've been to him lately. He might have been asleep or maybe in a trance, but that's irrelevant. He remembered how much you've ignored him on your 'path to rediscovery' or whatever you want to call it. How could you be so mean? I thought you cared about the poor fool. Who's the bitch now?"

"Still you."

"Oh, grow up. You didn't deserve him anyway."

"He was my friend. I don't have to be a certain made up qualification for that, unfortunately for you."

"_Was_. Past tense. You already don't give a crap about him, don't try to lie to me. Gosh, Vero, this is so _fun_. I haven't had this much fun since I started a royal scandal in England. You should've been there. People freaked when their perfect prince went dark and scary. It was so beautiful, I almost cried."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Like I said, you had to be there."

"Why are you doing this to me? Haven't you messed with my life enough?"

"Not quite. Plus, I _really _like pushing your buttons, seeing how far you'll go. How far you'll fall."

"What makes you think you can get me to fall?"

Claudia laughed. "Oh, trust me. I know, Vero. But I really do want to know how far you're going to fall. I'm taking bets with a couple other beings. They are very interested in the issue."

"And I'm assuming they know more about it than I do at the current moment?"

"Do you even have to ask? Of course they know the whole story. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to make a proper bet."

"That's irrelevant and you know it. How do I change Paulo back to how he was?"

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe you just have to talk to him. Maybe you have to delve into his subconscious and plant thoughts there. Maybe you have to hypnotize him. One of them is bound to work…if you can figure out how to do any of them."

"I will then. Thanks for the help anyway." I was trying to draw her out, maybe make her crack bit by bit. I needed more of a hand navigating this new twisted life I was living. She seemed to be one of those people who opens her big mouth, thinking she is mysterious and clever but really, she just gives me whatever information I need. It was very, very helpful in the long run.

"I-I'm not helping you, you selfish brat. You haven't done anything to earn it."

"Well, you helped me anyway. If I didn't know better, I would say you want to help me in the back of your mind. Do you really value our friendship that much? I'm touched."

Claudia snarled in my ear, the sound resonated through my body and gave me an eerie chill. "Watch your tongue, sock puppet. One wrong move, I will literally cut it off. Go to class." The feeling that Claudia was right beside me abruptly left me as she dismissed me. I really needed to learn her tricks.


End file.
